Pigeon Books to shut Southsea shop and move online as lease comes up for renewal
The owners of an award winning independent book shop have announced they will be closing the doors to their store in Southsea.
Phil and Mel Davies opened Pigeon Books on Albert Road in 2020 and it has been an up and down time for the business, from adapting and surviving though covid lockdowns, to being named South East Independent bookshop of the Year in 2024 at the British Book Awards. It has now been confirmed that they will not be renewing their lease for the shop which runs out in February.
In March last year the business put an appeal for support after it struggled following a fallow Christmas. The appeal did lead to a surge of support from the community but unfortunately another slow festive period has followed, leading to the decision to close the shop.
Phil said: “We had a slow Christmas last year, we rely on Christmas to carry us over into the quieter months, last year it didn't happen. When we put out the post asking for help if people could afford it, we had some really good support which bumped us up and put us on the right track. It made us feel valued and part of the community and more determined to carry on.
“The same thing sort of happened this year, we had a slow Christmas, which talking to local businesses was a common theme. It’s just how it is at the moment, everyone is struggling for money.
Phil added: “However, it has all coincided with our five year lease coming up in February. We just thought maybe it is time to evolve like we have ever since we started. We have never really known normal, we opened up just in time for the first lockdown so it has been about making it work regardless of the circumstances. This is just another blip along the road I suppose.”
While there is disappointment in closing the store, Phil is feeling positive about the future of the business. He said: ”This is not the end of us as a business, it’s just the end of us in this shop. The hope is that we will wing it for a little while, start doing some markets and events, we have signed up already to sell at Pride in June this year.
“It is going to allow us to do things a little differently and the hope is in the meantime the right place will come up and we can start again. Until then we are online, we are at the end of the email, the phone number will be the same. We will try our best to keep things going without a shop for now.”
Much like their appeal for support last year, the announcement of the store’s closure has led to a surge of positive messages from the community.
Phil said: “Since we put the post up the support has been wonderful. It really makes us more determined to keep going in any way that we can. If people can’t get to us, we will get to you. I’ll get the bike out again and we will do things like we did during lockdown. People couldn't get into the shop then, so we got books to them instead of them coming to us.
“This is a positive step, we want to do things on our terms and keep the business going, instead of keeping on as we are and then be forced to close the business for good later.”
While the lease runs out at the end of February, it is likely that the shop will stop trading at the end of January to allow for the unit to be restored to its original condition. Orders can still be placed online at pigeonbooks.co.uk where updates will also be provided regarding the shop’s closure.